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A. G. F. KUROWSKI.

TYPEWRI'TING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1911.

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TYPEWRITlNGY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1911.

1,332,263. Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED G. F. KUBOWSKI, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO UN DERWOOD TYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

TYPEWRITING-MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

Original application filed December 7, 1916, Serial No. 135,563. Divided and this application filed July 7, 1917. Serial No. 179,218.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED G. F. KUR- owsKi, a subject of the Emperor of Ger many, but having taken out preliminary United States naturalization papers, residing in Brooklyn borough, in the county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewriting-Machines, of which the following a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in type writing machines, and more particularly to the mechanism for guiding worksheets around the platen, and assisting in feeding the same with the movement of the platen.

This application is a division of my application No. 135,563, filed December 7, 1916.

The present case relates to the paper-apron and the paper-shield, and their relation to the platen, to each other and the pressure feed-rolls. The paper-shield moves toward and fronrthe platen with the pressure feedrolls. as the latter are brought into operative position and released. The paper-apron is stationary, so that means is provided for allowing for the relative movement between the paper-shield and the paper-apron in the best possible way. This is done by providing interlocking fingers on the paper-apron and the paper-shield, which are of sufficient magnitude to always form a continuous surface along which the work-sheet may slide whether the shield is in its position near the platen. or in its position away from the platen.

The apron is further provided with a deflecting curve or enlargement which will carry the leading edge of the work-sheet, as it is inserted on the platen, past the ends of the interlocking fingers on the shield.

The front end of the shield extends considerably up and in front of the bite of the roll and platen, and engages with the platen along its front edge, so as to form means for gripping and holding the work-sheet to the platen. This is especially useful in maintaining the bottom edge of the work-sheet snug on the platen, when it is desired to write close to the bottom of the work-sheet.

In order that the shield may be yielding at this point, it is formed of a separate strip of relatiyely thin metal secured to the body portion of the shield, and in this way it will, although gripping the work-sheets to the platen, yield sufiiciently to allow a number of work-sheets to be placed on the platen. This strip 'is perforated near its top edge at a series of places, so that the leading edge of the work-sheet can be seen when it is inserted on the platen, before it has actually cleared the front edge of the shield.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view, looking from below and in front, showing the rolls and shield in their active position in engagement with the platen. The view is partly broken away to show the shifting mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, taken from front to rear, showing the pressure feedrolls and the shield as moved downward to their disengaged position with respect to the platen, so as to permit the insertion of a fresh work-sheet on the platen.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view, in vertical section, showing the method of attaching the front flexible strip to the body of the shield.

Fig. i is a vertical section similar to Fig. 2, except that the shield and pressure feedrolls have been moved into intimate relation with the platen.

Fig. 5 is a detail view, showing how the shield is locked in position on the rod which supports and shifts it.

Fig. 6 is a detail section illustrating the spring mechanism for normally maintaining the pressure feed-rolls and the shield in their close relation with respect to the platen.

Fig. 7 is a contracted view, in front elevation, partly broken away to show the underlying structure of the shifting means.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view, with a part of the platen and a part of the shield broken away to show the underlying structure.

The platen 1 is mounted in the usual manner, by means of a shaft 2, in a platen frame 3. The platen frame 3 includes side plates 4 connected at their lower ends by a cross-beam 5, which is channeled to receive other mechanism and to give a li ht, strong structure. The side plates 4 are a so connected at their rear side edges, which slope downwardly and forwardly by an apron 6.

In order to assist in guiding and feeding the work-sheets onto the platen 1 from the apron 6, there are provided two series of pressure feed-rolls 7 and 8; the former are somewhat larger and engage somewhat in the rear of a vertical plane passin through the axis of the platen, while the latter are smaller and engage the platen considerably in front of the same vertical plane.

The series of rolls 7 and 8 are rotatably mounted on shafts 11 and 12, respectively. These rolls are so mounted that they will move as a unit toward and from the platen 1. To do this, the shafts 11 and 12 are set into open-sided slots 16 and 17 in doublearmed brackets 18. The brackets 18 are pivotally mounted at suitable intervals on a supporting rod 19. Thus, the two series of feed-rolls are mounted to move as a unit, and have a fixed relation with respect to each other. The shifting of this unit as a whole is accomplished by providing on the supporting rod 19, at intervals, a series of forked arms 20 to which are pivotally connected cranks 21. Normally the pressure feed-rolls 7 and 8 are held in intimate contact with the platen 1 by means of a series of s iral springs 23 loosely mounted on the sha 22 and operating the frame comprising the brackets 18 and the supportin rod 19.

The articular structure of this spring mechanism will be seen by reference to Fig. 6. One end of the sprm 23 is, in each instance, connected to a co lar 24 loose on the shaft 22 and having a pin or projection 25 engaging with set-screw 26 on the corresponding arm 20 of the supporting rod 19. The other end of each spring 23 is secured to a collar or sleeve 27 adjustably secured to the shaft 22, and provided with a series of openings 28, into any one of which may be inserted a screw 29 arranged to enga e limiting edges 30 provided on the crossam 5. The action of these spring units is such that they will tend to swing the pins 25 upwardly, thereby tending to move from the position in Fig. 2 to the position in Fig. 3, forcing the feeding mechanism up into intimate engagement with the platen 1.

In order to depress the feed-rolls out of engagement with the platen, there is providedon the rock shaft 22 a crank 31 operated by a thrust-link 32, in turn actuated by a bell crank 33 secured to a stud shaft 34, mounted on one of the sides 4 and having secured on its outer end a finger-piece 35. By depressing this finger-piece 35, the shaft 22 will be rotated, causing the crank 31 to pull down the joined feeding rolls against the tension of the springs 23, from the position indicated in Fi 4 to the osition indicated in Fig. 2. ne arm 0 the bell crank 33 engages under the top strip of one of the sides 4 to limit the downward movement of the finger-piece. At this limit the connection of the other arm of the bell crank to the thrust-link 32 will have passed beyond the dead-center so that parts will be locked, enabling the operative to have both hands free to insert the work-sheet.

For this purpose of guiding the movement of the unitary ressure mechanism, so as to be substantially vertical, the supporting rod 19 is arranged to slide vertically in a series of slots 36 formed in pairs of partitions 37 and 38, provided on the cross-beam 5. The partitions 37 and 38 are located on opposite sides of the hubs of the two-armed brackets 18, so that they also limit the movement of the brackets 18 lengthwise of the supporting rod 19. Each of the brackets is formed with a V-shaped tooth 39 located in one of the slots 36 and engaging the sides of the corresponding partition 38, so as to limit the extent of the swinging movement of the brackets about the rod 19, and thus limit the extent of canting of the feeding and pressure rolls as a unit.

To coiiperate with the apron 6 and the rolls 7 and 8 in feeding and guiding the work-sheet around the platen 1, there is provided a paper-shield 40, which is in the form of a distorted surface of a cylinder, enveloping, more or less closely at different points, the under side of the platen 1. The rear edge of the shield 40, beginning behind the rear feed rolls 7, is digitated or provided with a series of fingers 41, which mesh with alternating fingers 42, provided on the lower edge of the apron 6. The fingers 42 arch inwardly at 43 to form a deflecting surface to throw the bottom edge of the worksheet toward the platen as it is inserted. This prevents the work-sheet catching on the points of the fingers 41 which are covered by humps 43 in the fingers 42. The lower ends of the fingers 42 drop substantially vertically from the hump and pass considerably beyond the 41, so that they in turn will be in no danger of catching on the work-sheet. This form of connection between the apron 6 and the shield 40 permits a relative movement whereb the shield 40 can. be caused to hug the p aten closely in one instance when a work-sheet is in position, and can be separated widely from the platen in another instance (Fig. 2) to permit a new worksheet to be inserted in position on the platen.

The movement of the shield 40 is controlled by the same means which control the movement of the pressure or feed rolls 7 and 8. In fact, the shield is supported by the shafts 11 and 12 as it rests on some of the collars 13, which may be enlarged relatively to others of the collars for this purpose. The shield is provided with suitable openings 44 and 45 through which the rolls 7 and 8 may project to engage the platen. The sides of these openings 44 and 45 are turned outwardly to avoid their catching on the edge of the work-sheet.

The shield is further supported by means of brackets 46, one at each end, having open bearings 47 engaging the supporting rod 19. Lengthwise movement of the shield is prevented. hy collars 48 engaging these brackets. The shield is locked in position by a pair of latches 49 pivotally mounted on the brackets 46 and shiftable from a position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, to bar the open sides of the bearings 47. Each latch 49 is formed so as to be self-acting. The edge 50 thereof slopes radially nearer to the axis 51 of the latch, toward its outer end from the dip 52 of the latch, so that any tendency of the rod 19 to move out of the bearing 47 will merely cause the latch 49 to swing slightly and inch the rod 19 more tightly against the e go 53 of the bearing.

The major portion 54 of the shield 40 is made of a rather Stlfl sheet metal, so as not to be easily bent or distorted and to hold its shape. The front of the shield 40, however, is formed of a flexible strip 55, so that it may be brought into actual engagement with the front side of the platen in order to aid in holding the worksheet snug on the platen and properly guide the same. This really forms a holding finger for the work-sheet very little below the line of writing for the full length of the platen. To add to the flexibility of the strip 55 and its smoothening action on the work-sheet, it is provided with a series of apertures 56 located at suitable intervals. These apertures also enable the operator to see the edge of the worksheet as it is inserted on the platen, so as to determine whether it is properly alined before the shield and pressure rolls are brought up to their engaging position with the platen. The connection of the flexible strip 55 to the major portion of the shield is made so that there will be no tendency of the edge of the work-sheet to catch at the junction. The rear edge of the strip 55 overlaps and underlies the front edge of the major portion of the shield. Tabs 57 on the major portion 54 extend through openings 58 in the strip 55 and are bent backwardly (Fig. 3) to grip the strip 55 tightly.

The operation of the device will be readily understood when taken in connection with the above description. Ordinarily, the springs 23 hold both the pressure rolls 7 and S and the shield 40 in the position of Figs. 1 and 4 in intimate relation with the platen 1. This enables the rolls 7 and 8 to grip the work-sheet between their surfaces and the surface of the platen, so that by rotating the platen in any usual way, the work-sheet will be fed around to and past the line of writing. When it isdesired to insert fresh work-sheet on the platen, the finger-piece 35 is depressed from its Fig. 4 position to its Fig. 2 position, whereby the rock shaft 22 will be rotated, swinging down the cranks 21 so as to pull down the arms 20 against tension of the springs 23. This will depress the supporting rod 19, carrying down the two series of pressure rolls and the shield. If the. finger-piece 35 is pressed down far enough, the toggle formed by the link 32 and the connected arm of the bell crank 33 will pass beyond a dead-center (Fig. 2) and lock, permitting the operative to use both hands in inserting the work-sheet. The first edge of the work-sheet will be deflected by the bends 43, so as to escape the finger 41, and will come around to engage with the flexible strip 55 of the shield. The openings 56 enable the operator to determine whether the paper is properly positioned after it has been inserted. The finger-piece 35 can be returned to its raised position, enabling the springs 23 to force the shield 40 and the pressure rolls 7 and 8 up into their normal position, causing the pressure. rolls to grip the work-sheet, and also causing the flexible strip 55 to hold the worksheet snug on the platen adjacent to the line of writing.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a platen and feed-rolls adapted to hold work-sheets thereagainst, of a paper-shield, a device for moving said paper-shield and said feedrolls simultaneously to and from the platen, said paper-shield having an extension behind the rear feed-roll, fingers extending inwardly from said extension, a paper-apron including a deflector adapted to deflect worksheets to clear the ends of said fingers, and a second set of fingers springing from said deflector, so that they are farther from the platen than are the feed-rolls when cast ofl, said second fingers overlapping said first-named fingers in all positions of the paper-shield, and said first-named fingers sliding along them in moving the papershield to and from the platen.

2. The combination with a platen and feedrolls adapted to hold worksheets thereagainst, of a paper-shield, a device for moving said paper-shield and said feed-rolls simultaneously to and from the platen, said paper shield having an extension behind the rear feed-roll, fingers extending rearwardly from said extension, a paper-apron including a deflector adapted to deflect worksheets to clear the ends of said fingers, and

' feed-rolls All a second set of fingers springing from said deflector, so that they are farther from the platen than are the feed-rolls when cast ofl", said second fingers overlapping said firstnamed fingers in all positions of the pa rshield, and said first-named fingers sli ing along them in moving the paper-shield to and from the platen, and a front flexible extension of sad paper-shield extending in front of the platen, adapted to bear against the platen and to yieldingly press worksheets against the platen.

3. The combination with a platen, of a paper-shield cooperating with said platen, and comprising a body portion conforming more or less closely to the circumference of said platen, but slightly clear of it, a flexible strip forming an extension of said portion and extending the length of said shield to yieldingly engage the platen a little below the line of wrlting, an edge of said strip underlying the shield, and tongues projecting from the shield and passing through openings in the strip and bent back flat to hold the strip in place.

4. The combination with a platen and adapted to hold work-sheets thereagainst of a paper-shield, a device for inovin said paper-shield and said feedrolls simultaneousl to and from the platen, said paper-shield aving an extension behind the rear feed roll, a front flexible extension of said paper-shield comprising openings adapted to permit the leading edge of a work-sheet to be inspected before said edge reaches the upper edge of the extension, said last-named extension extending in front of the platen and adapted to bear against the platen and to yieldingly press work-sheets against the platen, an

edge of said extension underlying the of said shield, and fingers projectin from said body through openings in said edge and bent back flat upon the edge to firmly hold the extension.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of front and rear feed-rolls, a paper-shield, means for simultaneously moving said feed-rolls and papershield to and from the platen so that the feed-rolls and shield bear a substantially constant relation to each other, an extension of said shield extending behind said rear feed-roll, fingers extending rearwardly and upwardly from said extension, a paperapron including fingers at least as far away from the platen as is the adjacent feed-roll when cast off, said latter ers overlapping said first-named fingers an extendi parallelto the line of'motion of the fe -rolls and shield, and a cting portion of said apron on which said second-named fingers are mounted, adapted to. glide work-sheets, when inserted, clear of the first-named fingers.

6. The combination with a platen, of a paper-shield cooperating with said platen, and comprising a body portion conforming more or less closely to the circumference of said platen, but slightly clear of it, a flexible strip forming anextension of said rtion and extending the length of said shield to yieldingly engage the platen a little below the line of writ' an edge of said strip underlying the 'eld, and tongues prc ecting from the shield and passin through openings in the and bent ba flat to hold the strip in p ace, said strip comprising a plurality of apertures extending downwardly toward the shield body to permit the edge of a work-sheet to be visible below the tint line.

. ALF ED' .F. KUROWSKI.

W1tnesses:

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